from p34 maryjanesfarm = Monsanto continues to report that genetically modified Bt corn (in most all non organic corn) is safe for humans because the toxin in it that kills insects cannot survive the human digestive system. Reproductive Toxicology reports "that in blood samples of 39 pregnant women who ate conventional diets, 93% of women and 80% of fetuses had the toxin in their systems." will have to see if this canadian report is available on line. title i believe is Maternal and fetal exposure to pesticides associated to genetically modified
foods in Eastern Townships of Quebec, Canada
Aziz Arisa, Samuel Leblanc
same page = estimated that we have removed as much as 90% of large predatory fish such as shark, swordfish, and cod from the oceans and that 70% of the world's fisheries are now being harvested at capacity. Monterey Bay Aquarium publishes Seafood Watch to help choose fish that are caught sustainably. guide at : www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx (link viable)
p33 = sign the organic consumers association's truth in labeling petition at www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/action.cfm. there is a petition to sign there too.
aware that 70 to 80% of the non organic processed foods e buy contain GM ingredients? want labels telling this?
book to read: the audacity of genetically modified foods by bruce robinson 2011 (could not locate book in county library nor in Mel)
cannot believe the gogo squeez applesauce to go is a great idea. handy maybe but what a waste of packaging.
newly purchased johnson and johnson floss--made in the dominican republic. why can't america make it? cheaper to do it there and ship it here? not buying that logic. and how about a prescription from kroger--made in india.
got new hedge trimmers, black and decker, quality made in china. labeled as "hardended steel blades provide a soild cut". yeh, pretty close so it's ok
neighbor with a 19 year mortgage relationship with chase bank is moving out and letting the bank have the house. he owes 50,000 on a house now worth 40,000 and chase doesn't seem to want to work with him. surprise there? i have the feeling from what he said that he paid about 115,000 for it; lost his job a few years ago when the business went to costa rica, has had a low paying job since (no health care) which even though not great $ he likes, used his 401k and savings up since the latest job. good luck chase---i'm sure they'll write off the loss, get a tax break, maybe resell the house sometime and make $. way to go chase. oh yes, i forgot to say: must be his fault, personal responsibility needed, at least he has a job, blah blah blah
prevention magazine: "cool-fired power plants are the largest man-made source of mercury emissions in the US and once the neurotoxin enters the water, it's practically impossible to eliminate from the food chain" You can have your hair tested for $20 at www.sierraclub.org/mercury
gray water -- ways to reuse grey water see greywateraction.org
odd mole? www.skinofmine.com lets you upload a photo of your mole then analyze size, color, and borders. if it looks questionable you can get in touch with an online dr/cost 50$
michigan farmer newspaper: localizing dairy products may not be best for environment.
"a new study finds it's not always economically or environmentally viable for multi-product industries to focus heavily on local sales.....we find that increased localization reduces assembly costs while increasing processing and distribution costs. the weighted average source distance for some products decreased at the expense of increases in other products." (p18,21) cornell study "localization may not be the best venue to reduce carbon footprint in the case of dairy"
also from michigan farmer: rep don young R-AK recently refused to accept an award from humane society and the humane society legislative fund that would have honored his work for animals in 2010. he said "this organization has absolutely nothing to do with animal welfare. instead, they prey on the emotions of big-hearted americans, they flash images of abused animals on our tv screens to raise money that will eventually go to pay their salaries and pensions, not to helping better the lives of these animals, they run anti-hunting and anti-trapping campaigns and are of the same cloth as PETA and other extremist organizations. HSUS are hypocrites, plain and simple, and i will not join them by accepting this award. . . . i can only guess that i was to receive this award due to ny support of the wildlife without borders program which develops wildlife management and conservation efforts to maintain global species diversity, that program is true conservation; what this group wants is preservation. to accept this award would be supporting their manipulative ways and misguided agenda, and i want no part of that."
june 2011 France Amerique: an article about fracking -- general info and events in the US. world reserved of natural gas in impermeable rocks = 4 to 5 times the amount of conventional gas (90 years vs a 30 year supply). the US is the major producer of natural gas with 500,000 wells in 31 states and fracking supplies about half of the gas. pour laisser le gaz s'echapper, il faut faire exploser la roche en injectant de tres grandes un puits ne peut etre quantites d'eau, de sel, et de produits chimiques, a plus de 2 000 metres de profondeur. sous l'enorme pression le gaz remonte a la surface. chaque frack necessite 15 millions de litres d'eau. une partie seulement de l'eau est recuperee le reste (10-15%) infiltre directement les nappes phreatiques.
un puits ne peut etre fracture que 14 fois. il peut y avoir un puits tous les 500 metres. other than the amazing amount of water used it was also a surprise to hear that according to the chambre des respresentants, between 2005 and 2009 wells were injected with 2500 chemicals, 29 of which are cancer causing. large groups like exxon mobil are buying up small companies --alors que le gaz naturel se vend autour de $ 4/gigajoule mais coute $ 6/gigajoule a produire.
article about bessie coleman la premiere pilote noire de l'histoire en 1921.
film = sarah's key book by tatiana de rosnay Elle s'appelait sarah
ACLU in action: in TN legislators introduced bill to prevent any instruction or materials discussing sexual orientation other than heterosexuality
SD considered a bill that would have provided legal protection to husbands or boyfriends for killing medical personnel involved in a woman's abortion
ARKANSAS legislators entertained a bill that would have allowed health care providers, ed programs and others to opt out of providing any services at any time for any religious reason
AL enacted anti-immigrant law the requires proof of citizenship for children enrolling in kindergarten and grade school, makes it a crime to knowingly rent housing to an illegal and authorizes the state to create its own state immigration police force
NM legislators considered a bill that would have mandated drug testing to receive public assistance such as unemployment benefits
Sojourners sept-oct 2011:
sites: www.EntertheBible.org
p. 10 irrational discourse article--will we control high US health care costs or just shif them to seniors? ryan's proposals would double out of pocket costs to seniors over the coming decade while enriching private insurance cos. even if medicare seems expensive, remember it payys 2,200 for an average hospital stay almost 50% less than the US average
syncrude's aurora tar sands
movies: solaris, the tree of life, insignificance, blow out, kes, super 8 (i liked)
nonpetroleum plywood -- uswda forest products lab in madison have a new soy milk tofu protein based glue with supposedly superior strength and water resistance--let's hope (from hobby farms p 60 j-feb 2011)
coupon sites: bargainstobounty.com/centsablemomma.com/couponproblog.com/couponmom.com
MMAP = mi medicare/medicaid assistance program has counselors available to help understand medicare/caid, identify resources for prescription drug assistance and help a part d plan, review your supplemental needs, compare policies help w/claims and refunds
MiCAFE--serves at risk seniors for nutrition ed, food assistance and income support
Commodity supplement food program and TeFAP program--food distribution sites/guide lines for income eligibility
from journal august 21 2011 - "the # of children relying on public insurance in Mi jumped from 23% in 2001 to 39 % in 2010. at the same time the # of doctors accepting public insurance has dropped significantly making it almost impossible for many families to access health care. as a result, many end up in hospitals for preventable illnesses, that hurts everybody by increasing health care costs across the board".
AARP magazine sept-oct 2011: p 79
Bernie Sanders I-VT: I get a little bit disturbed when I hear folks...talking about SS is going broke...We have to reduce benefits we have to privatize it, we have to raise the retirement age. That is all total nonsense.
Alan Simpson, former senator R-WY: We've reached a point now where (SS is) like a milk cow with 310 tits.
Ron Paul R-TX: I'd let (young people) out--just get out of the program, opt out! Restore your freedom, demand your rights to take care of yourself, And then take care of the elderly who are dependent--don't put them out in the streets.
thermionic conversion -- investigate
carbon nanotubes -- standford university research using special ink that turns ordinary fabric even paper into an energy storage device. called eTextiles
books to read: merchants of doubt naomi oreskes and erik conway
the climate war eric pooley
organic flowers lacking but elzinga and loeksema greenhouse in portage MI has been growing more of its flowers organically each year. customers not asking for that and they aren't advertising it either. see the quest for organic ornamentals p 34 organic gardening april/may 2011. organic fertilizers are more expensive than synthetic ones--regulatory requirements for pest control=if snails found in certified snail free nurseries, they must treat any found snails.
p80 asparagus water wars: Peru where more than half of America's asparagus comes from, since 2002 the industry has extracted water faster than it can be recharged, giving the region the fastest rate of aquifer depletion in the world. the Michigan farmer paper has discussed the gov allowing importation of Peruvian asparagus harming us production. hard to think it's cheaper to import it. west of mi used to be large source of asparagus.
goldman sachs got $10 billion for itself and probably a lot more in backdoor subsdidies from the federal reserve. not they have given 1000 employees notice that their jobs are going to singapore where cheaper employees are available (p3 hightower aug 2011) pretty funny isn't it?
also from hightower's lowdown: re supreme court-----"in case after case the 5 hard-core republicans have been chopping furiously at the hard-earned legal rights of workers, consumers, voters and others who dare to challenge the power of big business elites to reign over us, both politically and economically." remember these names and hope for their demise: roberts, alito, kennedy, scalia, thomas. let them reap the evil they have sown.
according to michigan farm news feb 28, 2011: "the basic underlying rationale driving much of environmental policy making is that human beings are a blight on the earth, and that the only way to preserve the planet is to make sure people are actively prevented from using resources, said robert gordon, senior advisor for strategic outreach for the heritage foundation, speaking at an issues conference at the am. farm bureau federation's 92nd annual meeting. otherwise, or so this viewpoint dictates, humans will inevitably degrade and destroy those resources. but what should also stick out, gordon said, is that this rationale is deeply flawed". read more p.2/also investigate the heritage foundation.
michigan farm news aug 15, 2011: p.4 a USDA (economic research service) report says farmers prefer biotech varieties of soybeans, cotton and corn over their conventional and organic counterparts. the report, "Adoption of genetically engineered crops in the US" says in 2011 the use of biotech soybeans rose to 94%, cotton to 90%, and corn to 88%. why do i not feel content with these statistics?
farmers support a new bridge to canada for transportation of goods--it's a "sweet smelling opportunity to help get MI back on its feet according to farm bureau officials". p1 july 15, 2011
March 30, 2011: p1 article Farmers teach unions lessons in unity "unity can survive without a union, but a union cannot survive without unity....you could say we have a union if that means we get together and negotiate in the price discovery process".
canning -- lowescreativeideas.com/extras
crafts --etsy.com
Michigan funding for the arts in 2002 = $25 million. this year = $2.3 million. Moral of the story = Synder might just as well cut that 2.3 million and pass it on to business and corporations. (from natural awakenings sept 2011)
www.anniesheirloomseeds.com
red dragon equipment supposedly us made--site for sale
food at the frontline--saving seed on a workldwide scale while rejecting gmo crops is our best insurance for a safer future -- vandana shiva
